Luther, Pomeranus, Cruciger &
Melanchthon
Size : 11"x 14"Availability:
Out of stock. Description : Here is a beautiful print of the German reformers Martin
Luther Philip Melanchthon Pomeranus and Caspar Cruciger.
These were some of Luther’s closest
companions.
He would meet with them
several hours each week to discuss theology in his home.
It is out of these conversations that his
famous book “Table Talk” came from.
Pomeranus
BUGENHAGEN JOHANN
(1485-1558) surnamed POMERANUS German Protestant reformer was born at Wollin
near
Stettin on
the 24th of June 1485 . At the
university of
Greifswald he gained much distinction
as a humanist and in 1504 was appointed by the abbot of the Praemonstratensian
monastery at Belbuck rector of the town school at Treptow. In 1509 he was
ordained priest and became a vicar in the collegiate Marienkirche at Treptow; in
1517 he was appointed lecturer on the Bible and Church Fathers at the abbey
school at Belbuck. In. 1520 Luthers De Captivitate Babylonica converted him into
a zealous supporter of the Reformers views to which he won over the abbot among
others. In 1521 he went to
Wittenberg where he formed a close
friendship with Luther and Melanchthon and in 1522 he married. He preached -and
lectured in the university but his zeal and organizing skill soon spread his
reforming influence far beyond its limits. In 1528 he arranged the church
affairs of
Brunswick and
Hamburg ; in 1530 those of
Lubeck and
Pomerania . In 1537 he was invited to
Denmark by
Christian III. and remained five years in that country organizing the church
(though only a presbyter he consecrated the new Danish bishops) and schools. He
passed the remainder of his life at
Wittenberg braving the perils of war
and persecution rather than desert the place dear to him as the home of the
Reformation. He died on
the 20th of
April 1558 . Among his numerous works is a history of
Pomerania which remained unpublished till 1728. Perhaps
his best book is the Inlerpretatio in Librum Psalmorum (I 523) and he is also
remembered as having helped Luther in his translation of the Bible.
~From: http://1.1911encyclopedia.org/B/BU/BUGENHAGEN_JOHANN.htm
Caspar Cruciger
(1504-1548)
Cruciger was professor in
Wittenberg
and preacher in the Schloss Kirche
and stood very close to Luther. He was the stenograph of the Reformation writing
many of Luther’s sermons. Often when Luther was ill and the others away on the
Visitations and at Diets Cruciger was the only theologian in the town. In 1533
he was rector of the University for six months. Luther loved him for his
learning piety and modesty. Cruciger was also the most versatile of the
Reformers. He was always delicate and died after an illness of three months in
1548. The day before he died Cruciger finished Luther’s Last Words of David.
Cruciger’s daughter married Luther’s son Johannes.
Caspar and his wife El
isabeth were married by Johann Bugenhagen
(i.e. Pomeranus) in 1524.
~From: http://www.godrules.net/library/luther/208luther1.htm
See also http://unterkunft.wittenberg.de/e/seiten/personen/cruciger.html
Phillip Melanchthon
(1497-1560)
Melanchthon's
Youth
Philipp Schwarzerdt
(Greek:
Melanchthon ) was born
February 16 1497 in the house of his grandparents in
Bretten
Germany . He was the first
of five children (1499 Anna 1500 or 1501 Georg 1506 Margarete and 1508 Barbara).
Melanchthon's father Georg Schwarzerdt was master of armory of electoral
Saxony . His mother came from the well-to-do Reuter family
of merchants. His grandfather saw that young Philipp his brother Georg and two
other grandsons had a strong education in Latin by hiring the tutor Johannes
Unger from Pfortzheim.
At
school Philipp was the best student. He went on to learn Greek under Johannes
Hiltebrant. His great-uncle the humanist Johannes Reuchlin in the humanist
tradition gave him the Greek name "Melanchthon."
"Your name is Schwarzerdt (German for 'black earth') you are a Greek
and so your new name shall be Greek. Thus I will call you Melanchthon which
means black earth."
-- Johannes Reuchlin
March 5 1509
University
Education
Reuchlin saw to it
that Melanchthon was admitted to the
University of
Heidelberg at the age of twelve.
About two years later in 1511 at the age of fourteen he received his BA. However
the following year when Philipp applied to take the examinations for his MA the
professors were hesitant to allow him to continue on the grounds that they
thought the fifteen-year old could not possibly be accepted as a teacher. He did
finish his studies at Tübingen and in January of 1514 he received the MA at
seventeen. He was received by the faculty of philosophy and began teaching. He
also began writing which he was to continue doing for the rest of his
life.
Melanchthon was greatly influenced by humanism. At the age of
nineteen even the famous Erasmus of Rotterdam recognized Melanchthon's many
talents and spoke highly of him:
"To what hopes does this young man or rather this boy give rise! What
acumen of innovation what purity of language what mature erudition!"
-- Erasmus 1516
Time
Line
1497 Born in
Bretten
Germany
1508 Latin education
in
Pforzheim
1509 Student in
Heidelberg
1514 Masters degree
begins teaching
1517 Luther's 95
Theses spark the Reformation
1518 Professor of
Greek at
Wittenberg
1519 Accompanies
Luther to debate at
Leipzig
1520 Marriage to
Katherina Krapp
1521 First edition
Loci communes theologici
1522 Assists Luther in
refining New Testament translation
1528 Melanchthon's
Instruction to the Visitors concerning school reform
1529 Participates in
the
Marburg Colloquy
1530 Augsburg
Confession presented to Charles V on June 25
1536 University
reforms take place under Melanchthon
1546 Dr. Martin Luther
dies on February 18
1547 Schmalkaldic War
1548 Interim
introduced
1552 Interim ends
1555 Peace of
Augsburg
1557 Melanchthon's
wife dies on October 11 while he is in
Worms
1560 Philipp
Melanchthon dies on April 19
Wittenberg
In 1518 the
twenty-one-year-old Melanchthon was recommended by Johannes Reuchlin to Elector
Frederick the Wise of Saxony for the new chair of Greek literature at the
elector's
Wittenberg
University (founded in 1502). On
August 28 he gave his first lecture on "reforming the instruction of the youth."
It was the beginning of a lifelong association for Melanchthon with the
university.
At
Wittenberg Philipp Melanchthon studied theology under Dr. Martin Luther. In
September 1519 he was granted his first degree in theology:
baccalaureus
biblicus . Melanchthon turned out to be a popular lecturer. And Luther who
was fourteen years his senior recognized Melanchthon's remarkable
abilities.
Home
Life
"I am asked to get
married because it is thought to be an improvement of my situation. If I knew
that marriage would not disturb my work and my writing I could easily decide in
favor of it. For the time being however it will not happen." -- Philipp
Melanchthon 1519
Melanchthon's belief about marriage did not last long. In November
1520 he was married to Katharina Krapp the daughter of the mayor of
Wittenberg Hieronymous Krapp. Their
marriage was to last nearly 40 years until the death of Katharina in 1557. There
were four children (1522 Anna 1525 Philipp 1527 Georg 1533
Magdalena ).
Achievements
Melanchthon also
became involved in the administration of the
Wittenberg university. In 1523-24
and 1538 he was rector. In 1535-36 and 1546-48 he was dean of the philosophical
faculty. Beginning in 1555 Melanchthon gave lectures in world history. The
resulting work was later published under another name.
While Melanchthon was associated with the
University of
Wittenberg it achieved world fame
that lasted until the middle of the seventeenth century. On occasion over 2000
students would attend his lectures. He is credited with the founding of schools
writing of textbooks and initiating of reforms.
From:
http://chi.lcms.org/melanchthon/
Other Online
Resources:
http://www.melanchthon.de/e/
(Information on Melanchthon)
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-melan.html
(links to Melanchthon’s works)
http://chi.lcms.org/melanchthon/
(Great resources celebrating the
500th anniversary of Melanchthon’s birth)
http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc07/htm/ii.x.iv.htm
(Schaff on Melanchthon)
http://www.melanchthon.com/melanchthonhouse.html
(The
Malanchthon
House
Museum )
Martin Luther
(1483-1546)
Martin Luther
(November 10 1483 -
February 18
1546 ) was a Christian theologian and Augustinian monk whose teachings
inspired the Protestant Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of
Protestant and other Christian traditions. Martin Luther was born to Hans and
Margaretha Luder on
10 November
1483 in
Eisleben
Germany and was baptised
the next day on the feast of St. Martin of Tours after whom he was named.
Luther’s call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible resulted in
the formation of new traditions within Christianity and the Counter-Reformation
in the Roman Catholic Church culminating at the Council of Trent.
His translation of the Bible also helped to develop a standard
version of the German language and added several principles to the art of
translation. Luther's hymns sparked the development of congregational singing in
Christianity. His marriage on
June 13
1525 to Katharina von Bora a former nun began the tradition of
clerical marriage within several Christian traditions.
Martin Luther's
early life
Martin Luther’s father
owned a copper mine in nearby Mansfeld. Having risen from the peasantry his
father was determined to see his son ascend to civil service and bring further
honor to the family. To that end Hans sent young Martin to schools in Mansfeld
Magdeburg and
Eisenach . At the age of seventeen in
1501 he entered the
University of
Erfurt . The young student received
his Bachelor's degree after just one year in 1502! Three years later in 1505 he
received a Master's degree. According to his father's wishes Martin enrolled in
the law school of that university. All that changed during a thunderstorm in the
summer of 1505. A lightening bolt struck near to him as he was returning to
school. Terrified he cried out "Help
St. Anne! I'll
become a monk!" Spared of his life but regretting his words Luther kept his
bargain dropped out of law school and entered the monastery
there.
Luther's struggle
to find peace with God
Young Brother Martin
fully dedicated himself to monastic life the effort to do good works to please
God and to serve others through prayer for their souls. Yet peace with God
escaped him. He devoted himself to fasts flagellations long hours in prayer and
pilgrimages and constant confession. The more he tried to do for God it seemed
the more aware he became of his sinfulness.
Johann von Staupitz Luther's superior concluded the young man needed
more work to distract him from pondering himself. He ordered the monk to pursue
an academic career. In 1507 Luther was ordained to the priesthood. In 1508 he
began teaching theology at the
University of
Wittenberg . Luther earned his
Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies on
9 March 1508 and a Bachelor's degree in the Sentences by
Peter Lombard (the main textbook of theology in the Middle Ages) in 1509. On
19 October 1512 the
University of
Wittenberg conferred upon Martin
Luther the degree of Doctor of Theology.
Martin Luther’s
Evangelical Discovery
The demands of study
for academic degrees and preparation for delivering lectures drove Martin Luther
to study the Scriptures in depth. Luther immersed himself in the teachings of
the Scripture and the early church. Slowly terms like
penance and
righteousness took on new meaning. The controversy that broke loose
with the publication of his 95 Theses placed even more pressure on the reformer
to study the Bible. This study convinced him that the Church had lost sight of
several central truths. To Luther the most important of these was the doctrine
that brought him peace with God.
With joy Luther now believed and taught that salvation is a gift of
God's grace received by faith and trust in God's promise to forgive sins for the
sake of Christ's death on the cross. This he believed was God's work from
beginning to end.
Luther’s
95 Theses
On Halloween of 1517
Luther changed the course of human history when he nailed his 95 Theses to the
church door at
Wittenberg accusing
the Roman Catholic church of heresy upon heresy. Many people cite this act as
the primary starting point of the Protestant Reformation… though to be sure John
Wycliffe John Hus Thomas Linacre John Colet and others had already put the
life’s work and even their lives on the line for same cause of truth
constructing the foundation of Reform upon which Luther now built. Luther's
action was in great part a response to the selling of indulgences by Johann
Tetzel a Dominican priest. Luther's charges also directly challenged the
position of the clergy in regard to individual salvation. Before long Luther’s
95 Theses of Contention had been copied and published all over
Europe .
Here I
Stand
Luther's Protestant
views were condemned as heretical by Pope Leo III in the bull Exsurge Domine in
1520. Consequently Luther was summoned to either renounce or reaffirm them at
the Diet of Worms on
17 April
1521 . When he appeared before the assembly Johann von Eck by then
assistant to the Archbishop of Trier acted as spokesman for Emperor Charles the
Fifth. He presented Luther with a table filled with copies of his writings. Eck
asked Luther if he still believed what these works taught. He requested time to
think about his answer. Granted an extension Luther prayed consulted with
friends and mediators and presented himself before the Diet the next day.
When the counselor put the same question to Luther the next day the
reformer apologized for the harsh tone of many of his writings but said that he
could not reject the majority of them or the teachings in them. Luther
respectfully but boldly stated "
Unless I am
convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments
I can and will not retract for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything
against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.
Amen. "
On
May 25 the Emperor issued his Edict of Worms declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
Luther in Exile at
the
Wartburg
Castle
Luther had powerful
friends among the princes of
Germany one of
whom was his own prince Frederick the Wise Elector of Saxony. The prince
arranged for Luther to be seized on his way from the Diet by a company of masked
horsemen who carried him to the castle of the Wartburg where he was kept about a
year. He grew a wide flaring beard; took on the garb of a knight and assumed the
pseudonym Jörg. During this period of forced sojourn in the world Luther was
still hard at work upon his celebrated translation of the Bible though he
couldn't rely on the isolation of a monastery. During his translation Luther
would make forays into the nearby towns and markets to listen to people speak so
that he could put his translation of the Bible into the language of the
people.
Although his stay at the Wartburg kept Luther hidden from public view
Luther often received letters from his friends and allies asking for his views
and advice. For example Luther’s closest friend Philipp Melanchthon wrote to him
and asked how to answer the charge that the reformers neglected pilgrimages
fasts and other traditional forms of piety. Luther's replied: "
If you are a preacher of mercy do not preach an imaginary
but the true mercy. If the mercy is true you must therefore bear the true not an
imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a
sinner and let your sins be strong but let your trust in Christ be stronger and
rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin death and the world. We will commit
sins while we are here for this life is not a place where justice resides. We
however says Peter (2. Peter
3:13
) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where
justice will reign. " [Letter 99.13 To Philipp Melanchthon
1 August 1521 .]
Martin Luther's
German Bible
Martin Luther was the
first person to translate the New Testament… and later the whole Bible into
German. He used the recent 1516 critical Greek edition of Erasmus a text which
was later called
textus receptus . The
Luther German New Testament translation was first published in September of
1522. The translation of the Old Testament followed yielding an entire German
language Bible in 1534.
Luther is also know to have befriended William Tyndale and given him
safe haven and assistance in using the same 1516 Erasmus Greek-Latin Parallel
New Testament that had been the source text for his German New Testament of 1522
as the trustworthy source text for Tyndale’s English New Testament of
1525-26.
Luther's Writings
The number of books
attributed to Martin Luther is quite impressive. However some Luther scholars
contend that many of the works were at least drafted by some of his good friends
like Philipp Melanchthon. Luther’s books explain the settings of the epistles
and show the conformity of the books of the Bible to each other. Of special note
would be his writings about the Epistle to the Galatians in which he compares
himself to the Apostle Paul in his defense of the Gospel. Luther also wrote
about church administration and wrote much about the Christian
home.
Luther's work contains a number of statements that modern readers
would consider rather crude. For example Luther was know to advise people that
they should literally “
Tell the Devil he may kiss
my ass. ” It should be remembered that Luther received many
communications from throughout
Europe from people who
could write anonymously that is without the specter of mass media making their
communications known. No public figure today could write in the manner of the
correspondences Luther received or in the way Luther responded to them. Luther
was certainly a theologian of the middle-ages. He was an earthy man who enjoyed
his beer and was bold and often totally without tact in the blunt truth he
vehemently preached. While this offended many it endeared him all the more to
others.
He
was open with his frustrations and emotions as well. Once when asked if he truly
loved God Luther replied “
Love God? Sometimes I
hate Him! ” Luther was also frustrated by the works-emphasis of the
book of James calling it “the Epistle of Straw and questioning its canonicity.
Also irritated with the complex symbolism of the Book of Revelation he once said
that it too was not canon and that it should be thrown into the river! He later
retracted these statements of course. Luther was a man who was easily misquoted
or taken out of context. While a brilliant theologian and a bold reformer he
would not have made a good politician. But then he never aspired to any career
in politics.
Martin Luther's
Death
Martin Luther escaped
martyrdom and died of natural causes. His last written words were "
Know that no one can have indulged in the Holy Writers
sufficiently unless he has governed churches for a hundred years with the
prophets such as Elijah and Elisha John the Baptist Christ and the apostles...
We are beggars: this is true. "
~From: http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/martin-luther.html
